Two years ago, in a precedent-setting move, the heads of the Cannes Film Festival announced its cancellation following the corona. A year ago it took place, but under exceptional conditions. First of all, the cinematic celebration took place about a month and a half later than usual, in late June, when the humidity on the Riviera barely allows you to breathe. In addition, the plague was then in the advanced stages of a new outbreak. The festival island required extensive testing and of course walking around with masks, several of the filmmakers were sent to solitary confinement, and the danger kept hovering that the festival directors would cancel it in the middle and send everyone home.
On Tuesday of this week the festival kicked off again, and it can be said that this is its first “normal” edition since the Corona. At the usual time, without tests and also without masks. These remain only a recommendation – a recommendation that most of those present choose not to respect.
But taking off the masks is a cosmetic change. The corona period accelerated processes that could no longer be hidden. Superhero hits are selling tickets at the same pace as before the plague, but the type of action known as “quality movies” is having a hard time recovering. The difficulty is evident all over the world, even here, and even in France, the homeland of cinema, which has almost always been a paradise for such films.
According to various figures published in the French media, the market share of the cinematic gourmet has been cut by a third, even by half. It’s not necessarily that the movies are less good, but that the adult audience, who used to watch them in the past, got used to Netflix and other streaming services, and just did not return to the theaters.
In light of all this, it is no wonder that Cannes chose to kick off the festival with a film about the love of cinema – in memory of the good old days, which may or may not return.
This is the “Final Cut” of Michel Haznevicius, who won an Oscar a decade ago with “The Artist”. At the time, the French director dealt with the behind-the-scenes of silent cinema, and here he deals with the behind-the-scenes of something completely different – the production of a contemporary second-rate zombie film.
This comedy is a remake of “One Cut of the Dead”, a low-budget Japanese film that cost $ 25,000 and grossed more than $ 30 million about half a decade ago, making it one of the most lucrative films ever, and regardless, it was also appreciated Great and for a ritual class.
The Japanese original was a film within a film, and “Final Cut” adds another floor to this as it is a French adaptation of a Japanese hit, which also deals, among other things, with the cultural differences between France and Japan. What has not changed is that like the original, this version is also violent and wild.
Last year, “Titan” was recorded as the most extreme film to win the Palme d’Or, the most important decoration at the festival. “Final Cut,” for its part, is perhaps the most graphic film that opened the event. It has rivers of blood, a host of severed heads and at the same time, vomiting and diarrhea.
The film presents all this with humor, and it works – the result is entertaining and funny almost all the way through. More importantly, it is also touching. Alongside the jokes and bites, the Zenowicius is educated to present us with a rich gallery of sympathetic and compassionate characters. At their head, the failed director of the zombie film, played by Roman Doris: a mediocre craftsman at most, who happens to get a golden opportunity, and encounters every possible obstacle, including incessant humiliations on the part of the lead actor, a haughty Dushbag demanding a slap. Do not worry, he will get it.
In describing in detail the production of the film, the Zenowicius reveals the forgery in the cinema – the blood that flows from the actors is not real, and so are the tears that flow from their eyes. But at the same time, he also manages to illustrate how real the passion of the doers in the craft is, and how pure is their love for the big screen.
Bernice Bejo, the Zenovicius’ partner in reality, also stars as the film’s director’s partner, an actress who retired from the profession because she took it too seriously, but due to the collapse of the production, is required to stand in front of a camera again. The two’s daughter also takes part in the filming, and the relationship between the three family members is nurtured by their shared passion. At first, “Final Cut” seems like a curiosity, but in the end it turns out to be a beautiful hymn to the love of cinema – a love that is passed down from generation to generation. “Final Cut”, in short, is a wonderful movie. It was gratifying to hear that he has distribution rights in the country, and we can hope to see him with us soon.
In addition to the stars of the film, the opening ceremony was also attended by Forrest Whitaker, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Julian Moore, who received another honor – to be the one to announce the official opening of the festival.
But as usual in recent months, the person who stole the show was a surprise guest, who joined the ceremony in a video call from Kiev – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zalansky. In the spirit of the times, Zelsky conjured up characters from the era when cinema was much more influential, referring to the “Great Dictator,” in which Charlie Chaplin played the son of Hitler’s character. “Will the cinema continue to be silent, or will it begin to speak?”, He reproachfully asked those present at the glittering ceremony. “There is a new dictator today, and we need a new Chaplin, who will prove that cinema is not mute.”
The difference is that Chaplin released his classic film as the Golden Age of Cinema, with audiences going to theaters more than ever. Nowadays, if someone takes this particular art seriously in pleading for help, it only remains to say sadly that he lives in the film.